


This Complicated Life

by shaneequa



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Clint and Natasha need to wake up, College AU, Everyone is normal, F/M, Gen, Steve and Clint are military buddies, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-30
Updated: 2014-11-14
Packaged: 2018-02-06 19:58:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1870452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shaneequa/pseuds/shaneequa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>College AU. Clint and Natasha have been dancing around a relationship since her freshman year. But circumstances have changed with Clint’s deployment and Natasha’s move to New York forcing them to re-assess their relationship. (Gift for Black Widow and Hawkeye OTP).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title: This Complicated Life  
> Author: Shaneequa  
> Rating: Mature  
> Disclaimer: I don’t own anything.  
> Summary: College AU. Clint and Natasha have been dancing around a relationship since her freshman year. But circumstances have changed with Clint’s deployment and Natasha’s move to New York forcing them to re-assess their relationship. (Gift for Black Widow and Hawkeye OTP).  
> Author’s Note: Like the summary says, this was a gift for Black Widow and Hawkeye OTP. I usually ask my loyal reviewers for prompts. The chapters will be posted after I send them for her to read so she gets them exclusively. If any of you have prompts, please free to PM them to me! On a side note, I’ve been dying to write a college/military AU so this is what happened.
> 
> Original Prompt: "the girls have been noticing Natasha staring at Clint longingly, the guys dont notice but the girls aren't so oblivious. ;) So maybe they try to help Natasha get the courage to ask him out or they try to get Clint to ask Natasha out?? or they try jealousy??" from Black Widow and Hawkeye OTP

 

Chapter 1- Beginning of the End

For all intents and purposes, college was supposed to be the time to be promiscuous and go out clubbing every single night before your late twenties catch up to you and all you want to do is take a nap. Natasha, a recent defector, felt that all her life had been spent doing that for one mission or another and all she really wanted to do was take a good long nap in her room at the house that she shared with Pepper, Maria, and Jane.

It was almost 9pm when she walked through the door after a brutal eight hour work shift at the cafe. She was exhausted, it was Friday and everyone seemed to just want to get the day over with to move onto their weekend. Lucky for most of them, they don't have to work weekends like Natasha did.

The redhead walked through the door, the lights throughout the living room was on and she could hear the boys arguing about something. Of course Thor, Tony, and Clint would be at the house. It seemed as though they were just alternating on the days when the boys would be at their house, or the girls (dragging Natasha) would be over at the boys' place.

"Hey Tasha!" Clint greeted her as she walked past the living room where the boys where playing some video game. Tony had bought both houses a set of all the latest game consoles and a copy of the best games out there. That was what happened when the STARK name was involved.

"Hey guys," she smiled at them heading straight to the kitchen, the aroma of Pepper's cooking enticing her. Pepper always cooked on Mondays. It was why the boys were always at their place on Mondays.

"Hey Tasha!" Pepper smiled in the kitchen. Maria and Jane were sitting at the breakfast nook both with a glass of wine in their hands. "How was work?"

"It was alright," Natasha sighed. "I have work at the office tomorrow, so I'm gonna go to sleep early tonight."

The girls groaned.

"You always go to bed early," Maria pointed out. "I need you to let loose a little."

"I'll let loose next year," Natasha replied dipping a finger into the sauce that Pepper was stirring. She sucked on her finger, hearing someone groan in the background. "After I graduate."

"What about graduating?" Clint asked leaning on the doorframe that led to the living room.

"Nat was saying that she was going to let loose after graduation," Jane spoke up filling in Clint  earning a glare from Natasha.

Clint walked into the kitchen and leaned on the counter behind Natasha, leaning over her to take a taste of the pasta sauce earning him a slap on the hand from Pepper.

"Stop it you two," Pepper scolded them shooing them from near the stove and to the other side of the wrap around breakfast nook. "Stay there or you both don't get dinner."

"Yes mom," Clint and Natasha said in unison.

Clint led Natasha out of the kitchen by her waist to the other side where Pepper wanted them to be.

"So what is this about you 'letting loose' after graduation?" Clint asked her leaning back on the breakfast nook. He did that a lot, the leaning thing, Natasha noted. She also noted how well it made his arms look.

"Nothing," Natasha said shaking her head not wanting to get into it, shooting the girls around her a glare.

"Well you  are the youngest of the pact," Clint stated ignoring her. "You should... you know, hurry up and graduate; join us in the real world."

"I have a semester left," Natasha replied rolling her eyes. She was graduating after the fall semester and had a job lined up in Manhattan. Natasha knew that she was the only one of their pact to leave Los Angeles and the 365 days of sunshine it offered but she loved New York.

"I know, " Clint muttered. "Then you're off to New York, leaving us peasants behind."

"Clint..." she sighed shaking her head.

He turned to leave again walking to the living room where Jane and Maria had gone off to while they were talking in the kitchen.

"Clint, wait," Natasha called out to him, but he didn't turn or acknowledge her.

Natasha took the wine bottle and filled her glass up taking a swift drink leaving a third of the wine she poured left in the glass.

"You should give him a chance," Pepper pointed out as she took out plates from the cupboards and onto the nook for Natasha to set the table.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Natasha said taking the plates and setting the table with placemats then the plates on top of them. Pepper came to her side with the utensils setting them up nicely.

While they were college students (and recent graduates), it did not mean that they would eat ramen and take outs every day.

"You know exactly what I'm -- " Pepper cut off. She threw her head back into the direction of the living room and yelled,  "Jane! Maria!"

The two women stumbled in the kitchen laughing and walked up to Pepper.

"You need help, Pep?" Maria asked her putting down her wine glass with a smile.

"Intervention is now," Pepper stated nodding her head over at Natasha as a signal.

"They're outside," Jane stated with a groan. "You think it's a good idea now?"

"We can't keep putting it off," Pepper replied.

Natasha looked between her friends with a frown. She had no idea what they were talking about.

"Can you stop talking about me while I'm here?"

Jane took the wine bottle and refilled everyone's glasses. "We're going to need it."

"So what is this about?" Natasha asked taking a seat on the dining table. The other three took a seat as well.

"You," Pepper started.

"And Clint," Jane added causing Natasha to groan.

"Seriously? We've been on this topic for like four years now!" Natasha argued with them trying to stand up, but Maria held her down. She could have easily escaped her hold but she didn't.

"And we're still on it coz you still give him damn googly eyes," Maria stated, "it's been four years you'd think you'd do something about it!"

"I can't -- Bobbi and..."

"That was two years ago," Jane added. "Besides, he makes the same damn eyes at you."

"Especially when you talk about New York," Pepper continued.

"That doesn't count, you all get sad when I talk about New York," Natasha pointed out.

"As long as you know that we're all against it," Maria smiled. "And don't change the subject, we've all decided that you should ask Clint out."

Natasha rolled her eyes.

"You know you can't make me do anything," Natasha replied. Stubborn as she was, she always did what she chose to do. They had to sedate her and carry her to take her to the piercing shop so she could get her cartilage pierce with them.

"We know," the three said in unison.

Natasha chuckled at that. "Look, if he wanted to date me, he would've asked me out but he doesn't -- he won't."

"So you ask him out!" Jane exclaimed in the same voice she does when she figured out the answer to a really really complicated physics equation.

"No! I'm not that desp--"

"Hey Pep! Is dinner ready? Do you girls need help?" Tony's voiced rang through the dining room interrupting the girls.

"We're fine, " Pepper called out cutting her eyes. 

Thor poked his head into the dining room then bounded into the kitchen.

"I shall finish serving the table," Thor staid taking the large serving plate full of pasta sauce. The other men followed suit and brought the pasta over to the table. The girls changed seats around so they can all sit next to their significant others. Pepper and Tony, Maria and Steve, Thor and Jane, which left Clint and Natasha to sit next to each other.

The conversation took another turn at the table, something about the weekend and possibly going to Disneyland as a group because, hey, why not?

"I can't, I have work," Natasha stated dejectedly.

"But we have season passes and you haven't even used yours up," Clint protested.

"I have to save up for New York," she replied putting her fork down. "You know how expensive it is to live there, and as it is I'm going to have to find new people to live with and..."

"Or you could stay here and live with us still," Jane threw the suggestion out causing everyone to nod their heads in agreement. Jane still had two years left for her Master's Degree that she was taking at UCLA and therefore Thor was staying there with her. Thor, the heir of a large shipping company, was able to work on his family company from LA, much to his father’s dismay who wanted him back in Europe.

"You should," Clint said nodding his head.

"I can't," Natasha replied. "That's the end of this conversation. Can we all talk about something else?"

"Not until you agree to go to Disneyland with us, " Tony stated.

"I just told you--"

"I know, I'll pay you what you make that whole day, then double it if you go to Disneyland with us," he interjected. His father could afford all that and more, he had even offered Natasha a job at their legal department based in Malibu, but to no surprise, Natasha refused his offer.

"You know I can't do that, Tony," Natasha said shaking his head.

Clint cleared his throat. "Well I have an announcement to make."

The attention went to Clint at that moment.

"What is it, man?"

"I... uh, I got my orders," Clint stuttered. After a year of enlistment, just after he finally got settled into his job, Clint was picked up by the Naval Academy to become an officer. The Special Operations community was lacking officers and his commanders had saw the kid who never missed as a great leader. Clint just went with where he was ordered to be  -- three square meals a day and a place to sleep was better than anything he had growing up -- and after graduating from Annapolis, he was stationed in Coronado where he met Steve who was dating Maria... who lived with Natasha and Pepper.

"And?" Steve asked, an army guy stationed at Coronado as a liaison.

"Well, since I uh, I don't... I'm 3-6-5 deployment."

"What?" "When?"  the chorus of voices from his friends sitting around the table replied.

Clint scratched the back of his head, "Tuesday, I'll be packed and ready to go on Tuesday."

The table sat shocked.

"This Tuesday?" Natasha asked in a whisper. She had signed up for shifts until Thursday!

"Yeah," Clint said, his mouth slightly turned in dejection. "I didn't want to ruin the weekend but it seemed like a good time to..."

"Clinton Francis Barton, I sure hope you were not planning to tell us on Monday that you were leaving on Tuesday!" Pepper scolded him.

He shrugged twisting pasta onto his fork.

"For how long?"

"It's a 3-6-5, for now," Clint shrugged.

Natasha sighed. "I'll go to Disneyland tomorrow."

"What?" Clint asked her, her statement seeming random to him.

"Disneyland," Natasha repeated. "I'll call in sick for my jobs this weekend. I... it's your last weekend with us."

"So, last super on Monday night?" Thor suggested, and the conversation drifted off to Clint and his deployment, no longer at Natasha and her future in Manhattan.

The redhead sat quietly beside Clint who responded to questions and threw in comments throughout dinner. She knew about the military lifestyle, had sat down with Clint about it when Bobbi broke up with him because of his dedication to his job. Clint worked late nights on the weekdays, his training seemed never ending but he always found the time to text Natasha good morning and good night regardless of the day or whether she responded or not. Regardless of how busy they both were, they found the time to text each other at least once a day, every day. With his deployment, things were going to change and she didn't know how.

"You okay?" Clint asked her alter that evening. She did come in opting to just fall into bed and sleep but now, she wanted to spend every waking moment she could with Clint. He would be coming back to California while she would be in New York when he came back. This weekend would probably be the last time she saw this man and she didn't know how to feel about that fact.

"I'm okay," she smiled taking a swig of her beer.

"I'm here if you need to talk."

She chuckled, "until Tuesday you are."

He shook his head. "No, Natasha. I'm here if you need to talk, anytime. If I'm over there in the Sand, or if you're in New York. I'll always be just a phone call away."

She sighed. "Somehow I don't believe you."

"You should," he said lifting her chin and turning it so she would meet his gaze. "I promise."

"Promises are for children."

"And so is love," Clint continued for her knowing her thoughts on love and promises. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and letting the ruckus from inside the house fill the silence outside where he and Natasha sat at grass of the small backyard. The others were inside playing a dance game on one of the consoles and laughter was heard all around.

“So this weekend is gonna  be the last time I see you,” Natasha stared staring at the squirrel that hopped to the fence. “In probably forever. That’s why I uh… I wanted to take the weekend off.”

“You trying to tell me you’re going to miss me, Romanoff?”

“You’ve been my best friend for a while now, Clint.”

Clint’s head snapped to look at her surprised. That was the first affirmation she had gotten from Natasha. The ice queen who usually hid her feelings because it was a sign of weakness finally showed him something, something concrete that he could hold onto.

“You know, Tasha,” Clint started with a small smile. “My contract with the Marines is up after this deployment.”

She nodded her head.

“I don’t know if I want to re-new it,” he continued looking at the empty space in front of her.

“I…” Natasha sighed. “I think we should talk about this later… you know? I think these last days with you here should be happy.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she smiled at him giving him a peck on the cheek. She stood up from the ledge they were sitting on and stuck her hand out. “Let’s go inside, it’s getting cold out here.”

He took hold of her hand and allowed her to pull him up. He intertwined their fingers together as they walked back into the house, never letting go, at least for that night.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - The Last Weekend

Natasha woke up in Clint’s arms, naked as the day she was born. She turned over to her nightstand where she turned her phone on to see what time it was. Shit. It was 8 am, they were supposed to go to the park by 9 for the full day experience.

“Clint,” Natasha nudged him on his bad shoulder knowing it would shoot pain in his system. She learned early on in their non-relationship-relationship that it was the sure way of waking him up.

When he didn’t budge, she pressed harder, feeling slightly guilty about it., but laughing when he snapped awake.

“Damn it, Nat,” he muttered rubbing his injured shoulder. “I asked you not to do that again.”

“But it’s just so much fun,” she smiled at him walking to her dresser and pulling on some clothes. She slowly got up from the bed and walked towards her with a smile, stealing a kiss as she put a bra on.

“You need to get dressed," she muttered against his lips.

He shook his head and pulled her closer, "make me."

She shoved him away playfully bending down to the bottom most drawer of her dresser and pulling out his Mickey shirt, the one that matched the Minnie shirt that she was planning to throw on. Clint bought them those shirts the first time that they went to Disneyland, of course it was right after making her watch all the movies that pertained to his favorite rides that he insisted she go on.

"I don't have pan---" Clint started but got cut off when she threw him a pair of cargo shorts followed by some socks. He had a drawer full of clothes in her place, just as she had one in his. Yet, Natasha was insistent that what they had did not constitute a romantic relationship.

As Clint changed, Natasha went to her attached bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth to get ready for the trip.

"You better brush your teeth, Clinton Barton," she told him, toothpaste in her mouth.

"Or what?" he replied from the bedroom.

"No kisses," Natasha said after spitting and rinsing, passing Clint on his way to her bathroom where, yes he did keep a toothbrush.

"Got it, gonna brush away," he stated.

Natasha reappeared beside him putting on a quick layer of mascara and eye liner and taking her sunblock from the valet.

"You're putting this in your pocket," she ordered him. "I don't want to burn."

"Yes ma'am," he said giving her a mock salute as he finished brushing his teeth. "You think they're all ready?"

"Pep texted me that they're all downstairs eating breakfast a minute ago," Natasha replied pulling her phone off the charger.

Natasha and Clint headed downstairs where the gang was already seated around the dining room table, Thor munching loudly on some pancakes.

"Well, well, look who finally decided to show up," Tony stated placing attention on Clint and Natasha. "And they're matching! How cute!"

"Tony!" Pepper stated kicking him under the table.

"It's good for you to join us," Maria smirked at Natasha. Natasha rolled her eyes at her dark haired friend as she took a seat next to Clint who handed her the plate of bacon.

It was agreed upon that they would take the beat up van to Disneyland so that they would all fit, it was Maria's, and she had been driving the van around since she was in high school. They all piled into the van and got to Disneyland breezing through security like all the locals as the tourists lined up and waited for minutes.

"Happiest place on Earth!" Jane exclaimed coming up to the entrance of Disneyland where, as locals, they also knew which lines they could easily breeze through. Once inside the park, the gang moved to main street.

"Split up and meet back here in three hours?" Tony suggested as per their usual gig. The gang usually split up to explore the park with their significant others first then met up to ride the rides that they all loved.

They all nodded their heads in agreement.

Tony smiled putting a hand out in the circle. "Alright on three, team break!"

Clint put his hand on top on Tony's, the one clutching Natasha's hand which forced Natasha to play along. The other's followed suit.

"One, two three..." Tony counted down.

"Break!" they all responded and laughed, going their separate ways.

Clint turned to Natasha as the other couples dispersed. "So, Miss Romanoff, what do you want to do today?"

 

"Dole whip," Natasha replied taking his hand in hers again. "Then... it's up to you."

Clint grinned. "Lead the way, my lady!"

They were there until the park closed on midnight, riding rides, eating caramel apples, and just enjoying their last weekend with their friend. With the current situation overseas and the dangerous job that Clint had, they all knew that there was a possibility that the next time they saw him it would be in a casket. They didn't want to think about it, but that was a possibility.

Something that Natasha thought about as the night ended.

They were at the boys' house, sitting at the private beach the boys had in the back of their house. Howard Stark only allowed his son to have roommates, only on the condition that they would still get top of the line everything.

Everyone was around the massive bonfire, drinking and telling stories, but Natasha who had been happier during the day started to become more solemn as time passed by.

“What’s wrong?” Clint asked flopping down on the bark next to Natasha.

“It’s nothing,” she shrugged.

“It’s not nothing,” he insisted. “Tell me.”

“It’s just… you’ll be busy tomorrow with preparing and all that stuff to leave,” she started making sure that no part of her body touches his. She had to start pushing him away, she knew that the chances of seeing him again after the weekend was moot.

“Yeah, probably will be busy until Monday night when we have that dinner.”

She nodded her head. “I’ll probably never see you after this weekend.”

“Tash...”

“It’s true, I’m moving to New York and you’ll be there… and when you come back… you’ll be here and I’ll be in New York.”

“Look Natasha, will you stop talking like this?”

“Like what?”

“Like I’m not going to fucking see you ever again! You know I would do whatever the fuck I can to –“

“To what? See your old pal, Natasha?” she said, her voice raising a bit. The others looked at them, quieting down.

Clint stood up and grabbed her hand dragging her up. “Hey, excuse us for a moment, alright?”

“Yeah, you do what you want,” Tony stated turning his attention back to the group and urging Thor to continue the story he was telling them something about a European animal he referred to as a Bildshnipe.

Clint dragged Natasha away from the group, going more than three hundred yards away. He sat down on the sand and pulled her down with him.

“Now will you tell me what this is about? You know I wouldn’t just---“

“Why? Why wouldn’t you?” Natasha responded, her arms waiving. “It’s not like we’re together!”

Clint sighed, running a hand through his hair. “No, it’s not like we’re together.”

“You act like that’s… you agreed with me that it would be better this way!”

“No, Natasha, you wanted it this way and I just didn’t disagree.”

Natasha scoffed, “You have no obligation to talk to me. To keep in touch, why should I believe that you will?”

“I’ve gone on deployments before,” he stated with a sigh. “I’ve talked to you every waking moment that I could. We talked every fucking day…”

“Yeah, but that was when …”

“When what? When we were friends?!”

“Look, all I’m saying is that...”

Clint shook his head. “No, I get it. I won’t fucking bother you ever again.”

Clint took off to the bonfire leaving Natasha where they fought.

He walked to the bonfire and grabbed the bottle of Jack in the cooler, forgoing the shot glass. He opened the bottle and took a chug, proceeding to take a chug one after another.

“Whoa buddy, slow down,” Steve said stepping up to Clint and putting a hand to the bottle to take it away. He made eye contact with Maria who was not as drunk as Stark or Thor.

“What happened?” Maria asked him looking back where Natasha was still sitting. From her silhouette, she could tell that the other woman her face in her hands.

“Hey man,” Clint protested as Steve pulled the bottle from him, spilling some on the sand in the process.

“You need to stop, you’re reporting in tomorrow!” Steve berated him.

“Let me have my last night of fun here,” Clint stated pulling the bottle from Steve’s grasp, but he was too clumsy.

Pepper stepped over to Maria and Jane walked over to them as well whispering in the way that drunk people do.

“What do you think happened?” Pepper whispered to Maria as they turned and looked at Natasha who was dusting the sand off of her as if she wasn’t surrounded by sand at the beach. She turned to walk towards them, and Clint saw her at the corner of his eye.

“Sorry to cut this celebration short but… I gotta, uhm,” Clint stuttered watching as Natasha’s figure came closer. “I gotta go. I gotta report in early as shit tomorrow.”

The boys protested as they watched Clint turn and walk towards the house.

“I’ll see you all tomorrow!” Clint shouted back at them.

The girls looked over at Natasha who just joined the crew, grabbing the bottle from Steve’s hand and drinking straight from the bottle much like Clint had moments before.

“Something definitely happened,” Jane said in her drunk whisper to Pepper and Maria. The three ladies nodded and watched as Natasha down the last half of the bottle.

 

 


	3. Last Supper

Chapter 3 - The Last Supper

For the last supper on Monday night, Mister Howard Stark rented out part of a fancy LA restaurant and provided Tony with his credit card with instructions of an open bar for Clint's going away. Tony had explained to his father that unlike the one to two month deployments that Clint has had, this would be his first yearlong deployment since they all became friends. Howard who saw Clint as a son he never had wanted Clint to enjoy his last days stateside. That meant reservations to the best restaurant with the open bar, and a VIP room at the best club… also with an open bar.

"Papa Stark hooked it up," Maria stated with a whistle as she walked into the restaurant room.

"Only the best for his other son," Tony stated as he took the seat at the head table only to be shoo-ed by Pepper who insisted that Clint take the head table (only they were seated at a round table).

As the waiters went by and took their orders, the seat that was reserved for Natasha was left empty. Clint didn't say a word about the empty seat beside him, and Pepper insisted that they all move to fill in the empty seat to shift it over to separate Maria and Jane instead.

"Last day of freedom!" Clint stated raising his glass of wine from the table in a toast as their food came out. His eyes wandered to the empty seat.

Maria and Jane looked at each other with a nod. Jane took out her phone and kept It under the table texting Natasha.

Jane - Where are you?

She left the phone in her lap as she started eating so that she could feel when the phone vibrated.

"Anything?" Maria mouthed at Jane from across the empty seat.

She shook her head and put a fork of shrimp into her mouth as her phone vibrated.

Nat – Working. What's up?

Jane shook her head.

"Are you alright, Jane?" Thor asked her when he shook her head.

"Nothing," she said through the food in her mouth. "Nothing's wrong. I… I uh, I bit my tongue."

He nodded his head.

Maria and Pepper looked over at Jane, both women slipping their phones on their laps and subtly typing on it. Their boyfriends always oblivious to what they do in their group chats.

Pepper – What the hell is going on?

Maria – Amen

Jane looked down at her phone and saw the group text with Maria and Pepper notify on her screen.

Jane – Nat says she's working

Maria and Pepper's phones vibrated on their laps. Pepper signaled Maria to look at the text first so that the boys wouldn't be suspicious.

Maria – WTF? Is she serious?

Pepper looked down at her phone subtly as soon as she saw Maria's subtle nod.

Pepper – She can't do that! Clint's devastated.

Jane – I know

The girls looked up and shook their heads. Pepper switched texting screen, a new one for Natasha.

Pepper – Your shift ends at 10. We'll be at the Z club. See you there!

As they all finished their dinner, none of them heard back from Natasha and the girls slipped their phones back into their purses for the night.

The waiter left the bill at the table, the food cleared out and the rest of the group almost drunk from the four thousand dollar bottle of wine that they ordered from dinner and the endless amounts of alcohol that they consumed.

Tony signed the bill then took his phone out of his pocket to make sure that the limousine was outside waiting for them.

"Shall we go to the club, my people?!" Tony exclaimed. Pepper shook her head at her boyfriend who she knew was already tipsy.

"Yes!" Clint said standing up and leading the group out of the private dining room and onto the curb where the limo was waiting.

On the way to the club, Pepper checked her phone for the time and saw a text from Natasha. She sighed hoping that her stubborn friend would change her mind and show her face to the club at least for a few moments.

Natasha – Not gonna ruin the mood.

Pepper sighed.

Pepper – You're ruining the mood by not being here. Just come for like 10 mins. Don't even have to do your hair or anything.

She paused.

Pepper – Please.

She saw that Natasha was typing away.

Natasha – I'll come. But just for 5 mins. I'm beat.

Pepper – Thanks! See you soon!

The limo stopped at the club, the driving coming around to open the door for them. Tony stayed back to tip the driver and told him to meet them at the same club at closing hour while the rest of them walked to the VIP (non) line and gave Tony's name getting admitted straight inside while there was a line that wrapped around the block.

In the VIP booth, they all gathered and ordered drinks, feeling the beat of the music. Jane and Thor were the first to venture into the dance floor on the VIP floor. Clint followed them, then Tony and Pepper.

When Maria and Steve walked over to the dance floor, Natasha just got to the booth.

"Tasha!" Maria exclaimed seeing her red headed friend.

"Hey," Natasha said slowly scanning the crowd. "Where is everyone?"

"Dancing!" Steve exclaimed. "Come dance with us!"

Steve took Natasha's hand and dragged her to the dance floor with a goofy smile on his face. Natasha laughed at the drunk Steve – a rare sight to see because Mr. Straight-laced America rarely got drunk. If anything, that made her night worth it.

She got to the dance floor where she easily spotted Thor who towered over everyone twirling Jane around on the dance floor.

"Lady Natasha!" Thor exclaimed with a smile pulling her with his other hand.

"Hi Thor!" Natasha greeted him as she got twirled on the floor by Thor.

Pepper and Tony approached her on the dance floor too, Pepper crushing her in a warm hug.

"Thank you for coming!" she exclaimed in her friend's ear so that she could be heard over the music.

Natasha smiled. "I'm just here for a little while. I'm tired."

Pepper nodded her head leading her out to the dance floor. At her height, Natasha looked around trying to see Clint. She was at a disadvantage with her small stature, and his average height. She was dancing around with Pepper and Maria when she saw him in the corner of her eye, his arms wrapped around a blonde woman.

She lost the beat for a moment as she stared at him.

The girls followed her line of sight and saw that Clint was all over another woman.

"Tash…" Pepper started, not able to hear her voice through the loud music but her words from her mouth was apparent.

Natasha shook her head and continued on dancing, her eyes closed as if erasing the picture from her memory. As she swayed to the music, Natasha mentally berated herself. She and Clint were friends, and while they occasionally had sex, they were not in any sort of romantic relationship that tied him to her. He could do what, and whoever the hell he wanted, and he deserved to leaving for a year in the desert.

Maria touched her arm to get her back into the land of the living. Natasha opened her eyes to see that she was in a circle with all her friends, minus Clint who she couldn't see on the dance floor anymore. She was the only one in the circle without a man dancing behind her which was fine with her. The less she saw, the better.

"You wanna go get a drink?" Maria said motioning for the VIP table they had reserved for them. Natasha nodded her head gratefully. Boy, did she need a drink!

She let Maria take her hand and lead her to the VIP table where, surprise, Clint was serving the blonde woman a drink

"Hey! Didn't know you could make it!" Clint exclaimed with a smile giving Natasha a quick peck on the cheek. Natasha forced out a smile, smelling the alcohol on Clint and knowing that he was drunk, half wishing that he wouldn't perform well for the blonde he had his other arm wrapped around on.

"Yeah, got off work," she said with a forced smile as she reached for a cup and the bottle of vodka on the table.

"You want me to make you a drink?" Clint offered.

Natasha shook her head, "I can do it myself thanks. Besides, you look like you have your hands full."

Clint nodded his head with a smile leading the blonde out of the booth and following her.

"You alright?" Maria asked her coming close so that she could be heard.

"I'll be fine," Natasha replied. "Weird, that's probably the last time I talk to Clint Barton."

Maria threw her a smile. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry he's acting like that."

"Like what?"

"Like a fucking dumbass," Maria stated taking a sip of her drink and sighed. "Just right."

Natasha poured the red bull in her drink determined to get the night on. She was going to stay out with her friends and enjoy the night, screw that man.

"Let's get the night started!" Natasha said leading Maria out to the dance floor and back to their friends.

 


	4. Chapter 4- Separated: Natasha

Chapter 4 -Separated: Natasha

Clint left that Tuesday as promised and Natasha had plenty of time to think about their relationship and the fact that after everything that has happened, she didn't want Clint to just stop talking to her. She missed him, and at the end of the day, he was her best friend.

She had the number that he used when he's out in wherever-the-hell place they send him, and so she took out her phone and decided to be the bigger person and send him a text message.

Natasha – Hey Clint. Just wanted to say I'm sorry for the way we left things. Hope you got to wherever you're going safely.

Over two months later, Natasha still had not heard from him.

She would have thought about it more had she not overwhelmed herself with shifts at both her jobs, and then school started and she focused on that. Whenever her phone vibrated, she would check it and hope that it was a message from Clint saying that he was alright, but it was never Clint. So, Natasha convinced herself that he was just busy, things were taking a large turn over there (she was also glued to the news hoping beyond hope that she doesn't see Clint on it), that he would hear from her when he was adjusted, and she left it at that.

She expected a lot of things. Clint had been with her for the past four years more or less minus the stunt with Bobbi. Even through that "phase" as they all called it, he would be there for her whenever she needed him to be. So she expected him to be there for her now.

What she wasn't expecting was that he went through with his word of never contacting her again.

And the fact that she seemed to be out of the loop because he talked to everyone else.

The gang was in the dining room on the typical Friday night where Pepper cooked. Tony had his phone out and was taking a picture of the food.

Once they were eating, Tony started laughing pulling his phone from his lap.

"Anthony Stark!" Pepper scolded as he took his phone out for the world to see.

"Look at Clint's face!" Tony laughed passing his phone around. He had sent Clint the Snap Chat of their dinner and Clint responded with a sad face and the caption 'send me some!' holding up a bag of MRE that read "vegetarian lasagna." Tony took a screenshot of the Snap Chat and had it up for everyone to see and pass around the table.

"Your dad saw him last week, right?" Steve asked Tony as he held the phone with Clint's snapchat, then passing it on to the next person. Steve heard about Stark's new demonstration in the Sand and figured that while he was there he would visit his other "son."

Tony nodded his head looking at Natasha as she just stared at the picture of Clint on Tony's phone.

"Yeah, dad said he's doing well out there," Tony replied still watching Natasha fixate on the picture on her screen.

Natasha looked at the phone, staring intently at the picture in front of her. He looked skinnier, somehow. His skin was tanner than when he left and he was sporting a goatee. She burned the image into her memory before passing it over to Jane who was sitting beside her catching the last bit of Tony's words.

"He even got himself a deployment fli-," Tony filled them in stopping when Pepper nudged him and subtly nodded in Natasha's direction. "Clint said he wished he got more care packages and he misses cookie dough."

They all laughed at the table, even Natasha knowing Clint's obsession with cookie dough. They never had a trip grocery shopping without picking up cookie dough when Clint was around.

Later, as the excitement died down and everyone were in their rooms, Natasha sat at the kitchen nook nursing a cup of tea staring down her phone as if she could telepathically connect it to Clint. She was so zoned out that she nearly jumped out of her bones when Pepper tapped her on the shoulder.

"Everything alright?" Pepper asked in one of Starks old rock band shirts and shorts.

"Yeah," Natasha said dismissing her fried. "Just couldn't sleep, that's all."

"You sure?" the older redhead asked. Pepper had noticed the change in Natasha since Clint left. The way that her appetite decreased exponentially and her mood. Natasha was never a social person to start with, but Clint's departure made her more widthrawn. She was unusually focused on school more so that she had already been, and was taking more and more shifts at work that they barely saw her.

"I'm fine, I promise."

"You talked to Clint at all?"

Natasha stiffened and shook her head. "Not since… not since before he left, not since the club."

Pepper's face scrunched in a frown. "You mean… the last day he was here?"

The younger woman nodded her head. "I… Well I apologized to him, but nothing. I haven't heard from him at all."

"You used to talk to him every day."

"I know."

"So what actually happened?" Pepper asked her. After Clint left, the girls tried to get the details from Natasha about what happened between herself and Clint but she wouldn't budge. Especially when she didn't fully understand what happened at the beach or at the club for Clint to basically ignore her.

Natasha shrugged. "I don't… I don't know. Has he talked to all of you?"

:"Yeah, I mean.. There's a group text, I always thought you were on the list. You barely reply to messages so it wasn't..." Pepper admitted. Clint had started a group text between the gang and since there were too many names their phones all displayed only a few with a drop down option of seeing everyone on the list. They all assumed that Natasha had been on the distro the whole time, apparently not.

"It's fine, Pepper," Natasha stated with a shrug. "I'm fine with it."

"You're clearly not fine with it if you're down here at half past two and you have class at seven," Pepper pointed out.

"It's not Clint that's bothering me… well it partially is, but there are bigger things that I need to think about."

"What do you mean? Like New York?"

Natasha nodded then sighed looking from her tea cup to Pepper. "Like New York… like this baby."

Pepper's mouth dropped.

"Baby?"

"I've tried talking to Clint, but he… If he wants out… I don't want him to know."

"It's Clint's?"

"Who else would it be?" Natasha questioned rhetorically. "Pep, I don't want him to know."

"Don't you think he has the right to?"

"He doesn't even want to talk to me!"

"Natasha-"

Natasha shook her head. "He wants out, here's his out. I don't want him talking to me because he feels obligated to. My child will not be a simple obligation, my child will be loved."

Pepper nodded her head, understanding but not agreeing.

"I'm trusting you with this secret. You can tell Maria and Jane. Nobody else, I don't want the boys to know. Promise this doesn't come out."

"I promise," Pepper said in a whisper. Then she smiled at Natasha sitting down beside her at the nook. "Will you keep a secret for me too?"

"Of course."

Pepper took stuck out her left hand with a grin. A large, elegant ring sitting on her ring finger.

"I'm engaged!"


End file.
